After watching the deterioration of the dog park he frequently visits with his pet, an East Side boy decided he wanted to fix it up a little.

Raymond Snyder, a 14-year-old who is committed to becoming an Eagle Scout, will begin work on the off-leash dog area at Palo Verde Park, 300 S. Mann Ave., today. He plans to complete the work on April 22.

He chose to take on the task after noticing cracks in tables, water containers for dogs that created a muddy mess, and holes in the ground that left dogs with minor injuries.

Even his own dog couldn't always avoid the holes. "He was running around one day, and he hit a hole and dragged along the ground," Snyder said.

Snyder is an eighth-grader at Booth-Fickett Magnet School, east of South Kolb Road between Broadway and 22nd Street. The park is near his school, on the west side of Kolb. He decided to make some improvements to fulfill part of the Eagle Scout requirements.

He pitched the concept to his Scoutmaster, Charles "Pete" LaRue, who liked the idea.

"When they can give back to the community, that's really the goal of an Eagle project," LaRue said.

Next, Snyder had to get approval from the city of Tucson to work at the park. He met with Midge Irwin, East District superintendent with the city's Parks and Recreation Department. The meeting rattled his nerves a bit, he acknowledged.

Irwin said she had no idea that Snyder was nervous when he presented his idea to her.

"The most appealing thing to me was that this young boy had experienced a desire to improve a public facility that he was using," Irwin said.

Snyder plans to fill in the cracks in the dog park's concrete tables and then repaint the tables. He also wants to adorn the tables with painted paw prints and the names of dogs that regularly visit the park.

He'll replace the existing water bowls  which dogs often play in as well as drink from  with a trough that should reduce the mess from the mud, he said. He also wants to fill in some holes in the ground with dirt and install an L-shaped leash holder that he designed himself.

Snyder said he came up with the idea for the leash holder when he noticed that people would hook their leashes into the fence and sometimes struggle to get them out.

Irwin said that if Snyder's idea for the leash holder works, the city may use it at other dog parks.

And although it's not part of his Eagle Scout project, Snyder has volunteered to help the city when it brings in decomposed granite to cover the ground in the park, which should make the area a little less dusty.

To pay for the improvements, Snyder raised money by holding car washes. Irwin said the city is paying for the base paint for the tables, and it will chip in more money if Snyder runs short.

Snyder said the most difficult part of his project was planning what he wanted to do and making a proposal to his scoutmaster and to the city.

He hopes that when he's finished, more people will use the park.

"When I first moved in here, there was green grass, and a lot of people used the dog park," he said. Now, not as many people use the off-leash area to exercise their pets.

Snyder wants to complete the Eagle Scout requirements before he gets to high school so he can pursue his interest in soccer and help younger Scouts.

LaRue said the knowledge and experience of older Scouts are invaluable to the program.

"That's when they really come into their own  when they can sit and work with another Scout," LaRue said Sometimes Scouting can't compete with boys' other interests. LaRue said some Scouts need motivation to continue, and others are in a hurry to complete the program.

It's about "nudging" them in the right direction, he said.

As for Snyder, he can't get the requirements completed fast enough.

"He's been rather impatient at times about getting things done," LaRue said.

His impatience might pay off. Some neighbors already have expressed gratitude that somebody is working improve the dog park, Irwin said.

He needs to pick a project that has more meaning than "replacing a few Dog Dishes" for Eagle Scout.

Sorry Scouting is about "People" not dogs.

Fixing a couple of freaking dog dishes doesn't even rate as a project for Eagle Scout, unless they have lowered the standards to the point where buying a homeless drunk a beer elevates us all to The Sainted Mother Theresa.

If I am wrong, so be it, at least I am Honest enough to tell you about it. TT

He needs to pick a project that has more meaning than "replacing a few Dog Dishes" for Eagle Scout.

I understand your feelings on this but it is possible the full scope of his project is not reflected in the story. His troop committee and the district advancement committee should provide firm guidance on the scope and complexity of the project so it upholds a strong "Eagle Scout" standard while also presenting a challenge for his personal growth as a leader.

My son earned his Eagle at age 17, is now 25 and sits on a district advancement committee to provide guidance to Scouts on the Trail to Eagle. He recently made remarks similar to yours about a project he helped review and I had to remind him that was why they asked him to serve on that committee. I also had to remind him of how many times I returned home from such meetings (when he was still a teen) where the committee revised/upgraded potential projects and he would remark about how high our standards were. It was kind of one of those Mark Twain moments where the child suddenly saw how much the old man really knew.

I agree with you. The project is supposed to be about people. I know enough devoted dog people that would use such a place, that it would qualify as helping people. I know enough psycho dog people that it would make him eligible for a Nobel dog prize. I am a one dog man by the way...

>>>"It was kind of one of those Mark Twain moments where the child suddenly saw how much the old man really knew"<<<<

My first thought at reading the News was "that poor kid" and I did that with memories of my own. Our kids are a bit more sophisticated than we give them credit for and just because a newspaper writes an article that talks down to them like they are a 9 year old doesn't give us as parents the right to do so as well.

It was really my only point, been there and done that. I left Scouting when they wouldn't let me grow up, I felt like everyone was talking down to me and boxing me in.

(I'm guilty of it as well, my daughter is a Cheerleader and I still call her my baby, (they grow up so fast) and she is and always be her Daddy's little Girl) TT

Fixing a couple of freaking dog dishes doesn't even rate as a project for Eagle Scout, unless they have lowered the standards to the point where buying a homeless drunk a beer elevates us all to The Sainted Mother Theresa.

If I am wrong, so be it, at least I am Honest enough to tell you about it.">

It IS about people and the pets they love. I have two mini dachshund pups. I have no fenced yard and I walk them on a leash.

I took them for the first time to the dog park where they could run free with me. It was a highlight in my life to watch them race across the grass and love the freedom they never experienced in their little lives.

I was a den mother and had an Eagle Scout who faithfully worked with our boys each week. I commend this young man for choosing this as his project.

To bring up buying a homeless drunk a beer to compare what he is doing is beyond belief!! Clean water is a necessity in a dog park.

Either the city should not have the dog park or it should be properly maintained. The young man made the right choice in my opinion.

I haven't seen one in 40 years (but it's been that long since I was in Scouting)

I used to read and re-read every issue, every page, every ad, every hint or glimpse of the upcoming edition. I loved that Magazine and then I graduated to Fur Fish and Game and then to Popular Mechanics ... (I even sold GRIT door to door) Yea I'm a Redneck, bona fide. TT :^)

Please see my posts that follow and understand that "I" understand that an Eagle Scout is not a 10 year old.

Watering Dogs at the Park is fine for a Cub Scout, 4H or a Children's Church Bible Study Group.

His task (the water for dogs) is an improvement of a facility and worthy of comment, little else. I doubt it if there were 30 or 40 other prospective Eagle Scouts doing anything but ribbing him about it.

<"Please see my posts that follow and understand that "I" understand that an Eagle Scout is not a 10 year old.

Watering Dogs at the Park is fine for a Cub Scout, 4H or a Children's Church Bible Study Group.

His task (the water for dogs) is an improvement of a facility and worthy of comment, little else. I doubt it if there were 30 or 40 other prospective Eagle Scouts doing anything but ribbing him about it.">

I did read your post and I replied to it. If you read the entire article - it's pretty clear that water for dogs is not all that he's doing.

There is other renovation going on and things being repaired in that park as part of his project. The park will be a wonderful place for people and their pets when it is done. Even the city is helping with the funds that are needed.

Wish I could contact those 30 or 40 prospective Eagle Scouts and would bet you that they are not ribbing him about it. Especially any that have a pet.

What's with this focus on "dog's dishes"? ***Snyder plans to fill in the cracks in the dog park's concrete tables and then repaint the tables. He also wants to adorn the tables with painted paw prints and the names of dogs that regularly visit the park...Snyder said he came up with the idea for the leash holder when he noticed that people would hook their leashes into the fence and sometimes struggle to get them out.

Irwin said that if Snyder's idea for the leash holder works, the city may use it at other dog parks.*** Sounds like a most worthy Eagle project to me, the father of 2 Eagle Scouts.

I am with Lady J on this. The dog park we go to has a large number of elderly people that get to come exercise their dogs and socialize a little. This is a great project. On Sunday, a woman comes with a bag full of dog biscuits. It is a great social setting for her and she has a wonderful time giving treats to the dogs. Improving a dog park improves the community.

Lady J, we saw the cutest little mini daschund tonight at the dog park. Our female basset was quiet taken with him. Not much bigger than the basset's ear.

He needs to pick a project that has more meaning than "replacing a few Dog Dishes" for Eagle Scout.

Lighten up, Francis. The Eagle project is about public service. Dogs don't go to the park by themselves.

If he thinks of, plans, and executes a project that benefits the public...more power to him.

What was your project?

In the interest of full disclosure, I was a Life Scout, two merit badges and an Eagle project away from Eagle when my father left us. I quit. I regret it every day. I wish I had that accomplishment to point to when admonishing my sons to stick with things and succeed.

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